Renewable energy ‘to overtake nuclear power’

Britain’s renewable energy capacity is poised to overtake that of nuclear power over the next few years, a new study has suggested.

According to a report from industry body Renewable UK, green energy is on course to overhaul nuclear power by 2018 and will provide energy for one in 10 British homes by 2015. The findings come amid confusion over the government’s stance on renewable power.

More than 100 backbench Conservative MPs signed a statement earlier this year expressing their opposition to wind subsidies. However, investment in offshore wind has climbed by 60 per cent to £1.5bn over the past year.

“These strong figures underline the importance of a secure trading climate to attract investment, especially in difficult times,” said Renewable UK chief executive Maria McCaffery. “That's why it's so important that the framework provided by the energy bill, currently under parliamentary scrutiny, must be right.”

A study from WWF Scotland recently warned that the Holyrood government – which aims to source all Scottish energy from renewable sources by 2020 – was at risk of missing its carbon emission and fuel poverty targets unless it increased investment.